Unfortunate Side Effects
by tokenwhitefriend
Summary: After Sarah and Jareth fall under and strong and notorious enchantment, Hoggle tries everything in his power to try and break them out of it. Set ten years later, lots of SarahxJareth type stuff, hopefully funny, rating might change
1. Dinner Invites and Goblin Plans

Looking herself over again in her bedroom mirror, Sarah let out a dissatisfied and frustrated sigh as she walk back over to her closet to change again. _Alright, how hard can iSarah, to find something that looks professional and grown up without looking like a forty seven year old business women? Maybe I should just go for the "otherworldly and slightly frightening look. I mean, this is Jareth, he seems to make it work._

Since her first visit Sarah had had many visitors to and from the Underground, but she had never had any like this one. She'd been to festivals, parties and just simple visits, but this was the first time she's ever agreed to a formal meeting with the King. It wouldn't be the first time she would see him, or even speek to him in the past ten years, but it would certainly be the first civil encounter with him. To say that she was shocked when one of the goblins approached her with a letter inviting her to dinner, would be an understatement, but for some reason she agreed to it. Now she was just trying to get ready without dwelling on all the things that could possibly go wrong. _What if this just ends up as another peach incedent? What the hell is he even planning here? What shoes should I wear? Oh, god, stop worrying, you'll be no use to yourself if you're all stressed out._

Finally happy with how she looked, she redirect ed her attention to psyching herself up to see the goblin king. _Maybe itwon't be that bad, like, who knows, he could just want to have dinner and talk. Maybe he might even want to apologize for that crap he put me through when I wished Toby away. Oh god, I'm gonna be late to meet Hoggle if I keep standing around like this._ She went back over to her mirror, called for Hogge, and a minute later she had disappeared into the Underground.

~~o~~

Running from the alley behind the market stalls where he had just been, a little brown goblin made his way to the room where his friends were waiting for him in the palace. He burst into the room, closing the doors tightly behind him before waving his satchel over his head in an overexcited frenzy

"I GOTS ITS, I GOTS THE THINGY!"

His two friends, who like him were servents for the king (despite their dimwitted nature), both rushed over to him. One of them grabbed the bag and the other pulled the old brown glass bottle out, and opened it up the admire the deep red coloured liquid inside. The three of them let out a little squile of delight as the sweet, rosey scent filled the air around them.

"Oooo kingy will be be so happy with us's"

"Now all's we got to do it put this in lady's and kingy's drink"

"Yes, yes, we's gonna make such a happy kingy with this"

~~o~~

Hoggle didn't like the idea of this little meeting one bit. The second he found out about the letter that Jareth had sent Sarah he had been suspicious of the kings intentions. He knew that he had tried to seduce Sarah at least once before, and now being the age that she was, he wasn't so sure she would be so set on resisting him. He was just glad it didn't take much convincing with Sarah to allow him to be her "official escort" to this little dinner. Jareth had traked him down to discuss his new position with him, but he to agreed to let him join them, so long as he doesn't get in the way. During the conversation Jareth had assured him that he had to malicious intent with Sarah, and that he simply wished to talk to her. Even as he walked to the palace with her he didn't trust the rat.

They talked very little on the way and arrived after about ten minutes. They were let in with, at least what Sarah thought to be, a little too much ceremony for two dinner guests, and were ten taken to the kings private dining room. Though it was nowhere near as large as the formal dining room (thus the choice to use the smaller space for three people) the room was still quite grand. Solid wood furniture, with a dark stain finish and red velvet for the seat cushion, increbable paintings, and elaborate chandeliers and candelabras lighting the space where just the first fabulously luxurious accents that caught Sarah's eyes in the room. The next however was the goblin king himself, who entered the room in the only way he seemed to know how to, in a cloud of glitter, and dressed just as glamorously as the room was decorated.

"Ah, my presious girl, how incredibly honored I am for you to accept my little invitation. Might I just say how absolutely lovely you look this evening." After a small bow to Sarah he turned his head just enough to be reminded of the angry looking dwarf who was joining them that evening "Oh, yes, and hello to you as well Higgle. Well, shall we all take our seats now."

They all began to walk over to the small rectangular table, but when Hoggle tried to take one of the seats on the long end of the table, a small brown goblin pulled him away.

"That not yourspot!" The goblin said in a hushed, scolding tone "Yous sit theres." And he pointed to the head of the table.

"Well shouldn't the king sits there?"

"No no no! Kingy sits across from where lady sits, and lady sits there!" The goblin pointed to where Sarah was sitting, which was the place where Hoggle had tried to sit, and then to Jareth who sat across from her, just like he had said.

They too were being seated by small servant goblins, and from the look on Jareth's face, he hadden been expecting it either. When he realised he had been placed facing Sarah, he decided not to look a gift house in the mouth.

"Well before we eat I propose a toast, to Miss Sarah Williams, champion of the labyrinth, the most beautiful women to ever enter the Goblin Kingdom, and tonight, my treasured guest." Hoggle's mood seemed to sower a little more, not only from the overly corny toast, but from the fact Sarah had actually blushed at it.

They all lifted their goblets to take a drink, but Hoggle paused a moment when he noticed the brown goblin and his two friends giggling and pointing as Sarah and Jareth drank.

"So, goblin king" Sarah began as she placed her cup back on the table "what exactly have you ... Um ... Have you brought me here to ... Um ... Discuss." Her words became more spaced out and breathy as she talked,almost like she was in a trance. As terrified as the thoughts that were crossing Hoggle's mind were, his fear only increased when he heard Jareth reply in the same tone.

"Well Sarah ... You see ... I wanted to talk about your comings and goings ... Between here and the above ground that is ... I washoping that ... Well ... I could ... Well ... Make them easier for you ... And please .. Do call me Jareth"

"A-alright ... J-Jareth ..."

Hoggle was practically frozen there as he looked at the sparke in their eyes when they looked at one another. His trance was broken however, when he heard those same three goblins whisper and giggle some more. His attention was soon brought back to Sarah and Jareth when they both, almost simultaneously, jumped up from their chairs and ran to the end of the table, opposite to Hoggle, where they met one another in a tight embrace and an impassioned kiss. Hoggle's mind went from terrified to down right, completely stunned as he looked on at this horrific scene.

He had never witnessed a more passionate and loving kiss, and he wish with all his heart that he never had. Feeling as though he had control of his body once again, he began to stand up to protest, but as he did, they disappeared into a puff of glitter. Hoggle knew exactly where they had gone, but just the thought of Sarah in Jareth's bedchamber made him want to jump into the bog.

The goblin peanutgallery who had been there during this little even suddenly broke out into loud cheers, snapping Hoggle's mind out of that nauseating train of thought.

"Well what inHell's name are yous three celebrateing for?" Hoggle hissed at them

"IT WORKED! SUPRISE FOR KINGY WORKED!"

"Now kingy gonna like us and gives us lots of chickens and not kicks us or througss us into the bog!"

"Suprise? What suprise? What did yous little creeps do to Sarah?!"

"I boughts this" the little brown goblin said holding up the now half empty bottle.

"And then I slips it into Kingy and lady's drink all secret" said another, taking the bottle and holding it up like before.

Hoggle swiped the bottle out of their hands and turned it over to see the table. When he saw it his jaw practically hit the floor.

"LOVE POTION!"


	2. The Morning After

**A.N. - gonna start by saying that I can't promise how often I'm gonna update, but it just so happens I finished the second chapter really quick. Second, I'm going to apologize** **for spelling, and say it will most likely be a reoccurring issue (on account of my horrible spelling and the practically non-existant spell check capabilities of the tablet I'm typing on) and if you notice any it would actually be kinda helpful if you mentioned them. Well I hope you'll still enjoy the story despite them, and now, dear readers, it's late night, boredom induced story time...**

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Hoggle ran down the halls as fast as his little legs could carry him, until he finally reached the door he had been searching for. He began to pound on it ffrantically when, eventually, it creaked open to reveal a tired looking gnome, called Donle, who was the case healer.

"Goodness, what could you possibly want at this unholiest of hours?" He asked the dwarf, despite the fact that the sun had only just set.

"Oh, healer sir, I needs your help! Those stupid little goblins 'ave gone an poisoned Sarah's mind with this here 'love potion'! I think that rat king was in on the whole thing! Please, please, you have to save her! You must have some kind of cure!" Hoggle blurted out in a matter seconds.

"Oh slow down man, I can hardly understand you." The healer took the bottle Hoggle had been waving around in his frenzy and began examining it "So a love potion you say? Hm ... So tell me what happened."

"Well, we was at dinner with the king, and we just had one drink, when Sarah and Jareth started talkin' all slow and funny. They had this weird look in their eyes, and they ... Um ... They kissed ... And ... Um ... They disappeared."

"Hmm,interesting ... And have you any idea of where they are now?"

Hoggle's stomach turned as he tried to answer the question "Well ... Um ... Ya, they ... Well,they's ... Um ... You know ..."

"Well, spit it out man, where are they?"

"T-they's in Jareth's b-bedchamber."

"Ah, yes, I might have suspected as much. Well, my good dwarf, I believe that I've narrowed down just what potion this one might be, but I'll have to do a bit of reading. I would also like to actually observe the king and this lady Sarah you speek of, so I should have an answer to you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

~~o~~

The healer had given poor Hoggle little comfort, so he decided that he might try and find out more about what was actually going on . It was surprisingly easy for him to track down the three little goblins, as they were still right where he had left them in the dinning room, taking amongst each other, and still seeming quite pleased with themselves.

"So would you like to explain to me exactly what you three have done to Sarah."

"Ugh, we's already told's you! We gots the potion and put it in kingy and lady's drink as suprise forkingy."

"Yes, I know you've already told ... Wait, surprise? So you mean that rat didn't plan this?"

"No, no, if kingy knew then it wouldn't be's a suprise! But now's lady gonna stay's with kingy and he gonna be's happy, and that gonna make him nice to us."

"Alright, so then, do you at least know what sort of love potion it is? Where did you even get it?"

"Oh, I gets it from the nice hooded lady, behind the market, but I not knows what kind it is."

"Oh great, that's helpful." Hoggle buried his face in his hands "Do you at least know if there's a cure for it?"

"Nope."

~~o~~

The next morning Sarah and Jareth awoke as the sunlight started to beam through the window. They were laying facing each other, and seemed to open their eyes at the same moment.

"Good morning my love" he said to her in hushed, tender tones, and gently stroking her cheek.

"Good morning to you as well" she replied with a smile.

"I trust that you slept well last night, since I'm hoping I managed to tier you out." He chuckled.

A rosy blush appeared on her face "Yes, I'd say you did. Now, what shall we do now?" She skooched a little closer to him, but he just sat up with a sigh.

"As much as I regret ruining this perfect moment, I suspect they will be expecting to see us downstairs. Although, we should only need stay a short while, then, aside from dinner, we can have the rest of the day to ourselves."

Jareth was right, when he said they had been expecting them, since when they arrived back at the dinning room Hoggle was waiting there, both for them, and for Donle, who had yet to arrive. The couple had dressed, but just barley, with Jareth seeming to decide on a pair of pants and boots, but opting out of wearing a shirt, and Sarah in an uncomfortably thin dressing robe that gave just enough coverage to keep Hoggle from acting on his desire to wash his eyes out in the bog. Breakfast had been put out for the two of them but, much like with his shirt, Jareth completely ignored it. Instead he sat Sarah in her place, then went and pulled his own chair over to her, where they then sat and began to talk again.

Hoggle watch this sappy display with a good deal on confusion. _Lord, they're acting like their pillow-talk is more important than food. What's gotten into these two?_

The healer had also arrived just in time to be a witness to this, but his reaction was much more grave, because he knew exactly what had gotten into them, and this little scene had just confirmed his suspicions.

"Oh, Donle, good, you're here. What have you got to tell me?"

The old gnome paused before turning to the unsuspecting dwarf "I think, perhaps we should go to my study to discuss this Hoggle. We need to talk."


	3. Diagnosis

**AN: Oh my god, people actually seem to be liking this! Why? I'm amazed! Well here's one that's mostlymplot, but with some super sappy fluff at the end. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Alright we're here, now tell me what's going on, you're startin' to scare me." Hoggle moaned as the closed the door of the small study.

The healer had a sad look on his face as he began to speek in somber tones "Well, you see, when you showed the bottle, I had suspicious about what it might be, but I didn't want to make any rushed conclusion. My research and the display we just watch confirmed these suspicions. The potion that the goblins used is a rather notorious one, and it is incredibly powerful. Those who fall under it's spell become almost completely entranced with one another. Nothing else seems to matter to them apart from one another, and this is where the problem lies. Once under the spell the subjects seem to stop caring about their own health; if they are sick or injured they ignore it, and most notably they hardly eat or drink. This becomes even more of a problem when you consider the, eh-hem, amorous nature of the potion, which tends to tire them out. In the end, they neglect their health to the point of malnutrition and over exhaustion, which ends in most causes I've seen or read about, with death."

Hoggle paused for a moment to try and take it all in. "S-so what your sayin' is ..."

"My dear man, it can basically be boiled down to this; they forget to eat, and they shag themselves to death. But, if it is any comfort to you, they are pretty much guaranteed to die happy."

"What? How do you figure that?"

"Well you see that's another interesting thing about this potion; it connects into it's subject's hearts deepeds desires. All they want to do is to make the other happy, and also make themselves happy. It becomes almost impossible to separate them and it also seems they start becoming connected on a whole other level. They become perfectly intuned with each other, fully aware of how to please the other, and never wanting to leave their side. It has been recorded in almost every case, including all the ones I've seen, that their deaths are almost simultaneously, and they always die in each others arms, with their lover being the last thing they see. Because of these states, they are happy whenever they are together, so they always die happy. All at once it's romantic and tragic and really quite strange. Becoming so completely connected that even their deaths are the same."

The thought of Sarah, not only one of his few friends, but his best friemd at that, dying made him feel sick, and that made it hard for him to ask, since it just made it seem like more of a reality. "So ... H-how long do ya think they've got left?"

The healer thought it over for a little while "The longest I've ever heard of was for two being that were practically demigods, which was just over a year. Most cases are a few months, but those are still between magical creature, and even the weakest of them live much longer and are much more sturdy than mortals. The magic of the potion, along with what magic will rub off from the king will sustain her for longer than normal, but since this Sarah is still a mortal, I would give them four, maybe five weeks at most."

Hoggle stood there in stunned silence for nearly a minute before slouching down into the chair next to him. Donle could see that his mention of her happiness did nothing to help the pain Hoggle felt for his dying friend, so he tried again to comfort him.

"You know, though there is no know cure for this potion, I have heard of couples being freed of the enchantment." He could see a glimmer of hope on the little dwarfs face, so he decided to file the fire "I could try and find out as much as I can about, and perhaps if you found the person who sold the goblins the potion, they might know something about a cure."

~~o~~

Hoggle again found himself running as fast as his legs could carry him, which he would have been rather annoyed about twice occurring in the same week, were his best friends life not on the line. He had decided that to find this salesman he was going to need backup, so he was off to the bog (another thing he would normally avoid) to get them.

"DIDYMUS! LUDO! WHERE IN THE BLOODY HELL IS YOU TWO!" He screamed as the came bolting through the thin forest around the bog. The little fox and the rock caller eventually strolled over to him, seeming completely oblivious to the panic in Hoggle's voice.

" Why my dear friend, what bringith you to my fine home this morning? And alone? Have you already returned the Lady Sarah to her own relm?" Didymus asked with his usual fflourish.

"That's just what I came to talk to yous abouts! Some of those stupid castle goblins have gone and put Sarah and the King under some love spell! The healer said that there ain't no known cure, and that if we don'ts snape 'em out of it, they're gonna die! I needs your help now, because I'm gonna look for the person who sold the goblins that potion and see if they can fix this!" He mutter out breathlessly, hardly noticing the horror setting in on his friends faces.

"S-so her ladyship is dying?"

"Yes, that is, unless we can find some sort of cure. Now let's go find that potion guy."

"Help-Sarah" Ludo added in as they started off towards the market.

~~o~~

The market was a crowded messy place, but Hoggle was fine navigating it since he so often sold vegetables and bought trinkets for himself here. Ludo and Didymus followed behind him, obviously more unsettled by the crowds and disorder the he was.

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and pointed to a suspicious looking character in long, dark brown, hooded robes. They looked somewhat old and tattered but also seemed to have pockets where goods were kept. "This must be the guy. They said they bought it from a hooded person, and that one looks like they'd be dealing with some shaddy magics."

They wandered over to them, trying to look nonchalant about it as to not draw attention.

"Hey, there ain't no chance that you've gots some potions on ya?" Hoggle said, trying to sound calm and unsuspicious to not scare them of. He'd seen more than one of these black market, back alley deals take place, and this seemed to be how they went for any creature with more brain cells that a goblin "I've been lookin' for some stronger stuff, maybe even a love potion?"

The seller seemed to perk up at that last bit and finally turned to face the trio. She appeared to be a young, lower form or fae, bigger than the faries found outside the labyrinth walls, about the night of an average human woman, though she looked as though she would only be about seventeen by human standards, but it was obvious that she was no where near as powerful as someone like Jareth. She had magenta eyes and dark reddish brown hair, which seemed to frighten Ludo a little, but those eyes also gave away the she was exactly who they were looking for.

"I don't think I have anything on me right now that would interest you," she sighed in a knowing tone "but, you know, if you were to come back around sunset, I might just be able to find you something that might peek your interest."

~~o~~

Sarah and Jareth layed in his bed, basking in the early afternoon sun, still a little breathless from the mornings activities which they had just finished. He turned his head to look at her and smiled at the reality he was in. He had spent the last ten years waiting for her to grow so that this very moment (and the one which had happen the night before and just earlier that day as well) could happen. He had planned for the dinner to be just a stepping stone towards this, but he considered this to be an extremely fortunate turn of events. His euphoria was slightly dampened however, when he noticed the dreamy look Sarah had on her face as she stared as the ceiling.

"Is everything alright precious? You seem like you are concerned about something."

She let out a little noise that was between a laugh and a sigh "I was just thinking about how before last night, I did everything I could to convince myself that I had no feelings for you. I went to dinner trying to seem as strong and professional as I could so that you wouldn't get to me. Then all of a sudden it was like all those walls I had built came crashing down. I finally realized just what you meant at the end of my run all those years ago; you truly were declaring your love for me, but it just took me so long to realise it. And I guess I realised that .. Well ... I feel the same way."

"But my love, why would you hide your true feelings from yourself? Why would you deny this undying happiness?"

"Well, I guess I was afraid."

"Of what?'

"That it was all just a trick to through me off guard, and I had just fallen for it. I was worried that you didn't really love me." She said in a melancholy tone.

Jareth sat up and placed a hand beside her so that he was looking down at her. He looked at her with an expression that was a mix of great purpose and great longing "My love for you is deeper that the mightiest seas, and stronger that any magic. Don't you ever again have a single doubt, or a single worry that what I am saying is insincere." He took her by the shoulders and sat her up so that they were face to face "I love you more than I have ever loved anything before, and more than I will ever love anything again."

She sat there looking at him, practically stunned by the passionate yet matter-of-factly declaration, though Jareth could feel her shivering. As he has said those words, she could feel the very passion eminating from him, almost as if she was feeling exactly what he did in the moment. She pulled him in even closer and rather than responding in words, she responded with a kiss, but somehow, Jareth felt as though he could hear her saying the words right back to him, like he could hear her repeat them in her own mind. When she pulled away there where tears brought on by joy and releif dripping down her cheeks and she gave a breathy little laugh, having felt as though a great waight had been lifted with those words.

They fell back into the kiss than back onto the bed, but despite the fact that neither had said another word, Sarah could have sworn she heard him whisper to her "if we could stay like this forever, it wouldn't be long enough."


	4. A Bit of History

**AN: I took a little longer on this chapter, mostly because I've been kinda, partly because it's about twice as long as my others, and a little because I lost inspiration for a little while. But I'm back. T** **his chapter features a lot of (kinda pointless) explination about the potion (that I'm not actually sure I like but I'm not gonna bother to change it now). Hope you still like it anyway.** **I'm planning make one of the chapters completely JxS focused and it'll just be a silly fluff chapter (probably not next chapter but soon hopefully). THANKS FOR ALL THE FOLLOWS/FAVOURTIES I LOVE YOU.**

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The trio made their way back to the marketplace as the sun began to set. By this time is was nearly abandoned, with just a few venders left, most of them looking as though they were about to leave atonyway, and, just as she had promised, the potion seller. She was standing near an alley and as they approached she waved for them to follow her down it. The end of the alley was pretty well hidden from view since it curved behind one of the little houses, and Hoggle guessed this was probably were she did most of her business.

"Wow, it seems you guys are pretty serious about this stuff."

"So, what's ya got for us?" Hoggle inquired, still trying to play it cool.

She looked them over once, then with a mischievous smirk on her face she reached into her cloke and pulled out a bottle that looked exactly like the one the goblins had. "This here, is one of the most potent love potions in all of the Underground. Mind you it's also the most dangerous, but believe me, when it works, boy does it work. So, am I safe to say I have an interested buyer?"

"I don't know just yet, why don't you tell us some more 'bout this stuff, then maybe I'll have an answer for ya's."

The fairy could see through his fake persona, but she could also see that he actually had a functioning brain, so she decided to go for the full story, and lay the charm on petty thick while she was at it.

"This is no ordinary potion, no my good man, this is the stuff of ledgend. It was first used by a sorceress who wished to stop the quarleing between her brother and her husband, who were rival kings. It was used to create a bond between them that would allow them to fully understand one another. It was used for such purposes until one day a witch decided to use it on a quarleing couple. Rather than creating a bond that lead to deep understanding and in most cases even friendship, the lovers became so connected to one another that they couldn't keep them apart. It turned out that the enchantment was able to break down any emotional bariers the users have built between each other, and so they give themselves completely to the emotion, and in turn, one another. Given, I must warn you, you can't simply use it on anyone. If the emotions that the people feel towards each other are completely negative, or even on one side they are, that is the emotion that will be unleash. Not to mention that unless there is a spark of love for the magic to fan, the potion won't even run its full course. But have no fear, I'm sure an intelligent creature such as yourself should be able to use it wisely."

They were silent for a moment and the fea decided that perhaps she could small talk her way to a deal."You know, you're the second person this week to come to me about this potion. Although I'm not even sure why I sold to the other guy, he was..."

"A little brown goblin with a big stupid grin." Hoggle finished.

She looked at him with a great deal of suspicion in her eyes when she gave a sudden little gasp "Hey, wait a minute, I know who you are. You're that dwarf Hoggle who works in the labyrinth. Well my word, if it ain't the kings little bitch himself. What brings you down here, did that little beast pour the bottle into the ale and the king's sent to get me to stop the orgy or something?"

"No, they goblins didn't take it, but we is here because of the king."

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" When suddenly the realisation dawned on her "You mean that little monster used it on..."

"Yep, the king." Hoggle finished.

They could see the terror growing in her eyes, but she wouldn't say anything or even look at them. She looked as though she was thinking something over when she tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately she forgot that her alley corrmored her in, and Ludo was able to catch her. Hoggle told them that they needed more information from her, so they started making their way back to the castle, Ludo still carrying her, kicking and screaming.

~~o~~

"PUT ME DOWN PUT ME DOWN PUT ME DOWN!" She continue d to scream, and as Hoggle finished lighting the candles and shut the door, he let Ludo do as she said. He had brought them down to the oubliette, reasoning that it would be better to take her somewhere she couldn't run.

"So merchant, you've gots no where to run, and no way out without me, so I guess you have no choice but to tell us everything you know 'bout this stuff."

She glared at his for a moment but decided he was right. Her magic wasn't strong enough to telaport and there really didn't seem to be any other way out.

"Alright fine what do you want to know?"

"What's the cure?"

"Well that's easy, there isn't one."

"WHAT! I though you said this stuff has been around ..."

"For millennia, yes, but like I said there is no cure. The stuff was made illegal in every part of the Underground after the first few times it was used as a love potion, so no one ever made a cure. Sure people have surrvied it before, but no one remembers how they did it. The last case where the couple surrvied was over 8500 years ago."

"But ... But ... That can't be, it ain't fair!"

"I'm sorry, but that's the truth. I really wish I could be of more help, but I can't, so can I please leave now?" Despite her request, they could hear that she was in fact sorry, but even still, Hoggle was too mad to care.

"No, you might not have a cure, but you are gonna tell us 'bout what this stuff does to the people who take it. If we know how it works we might be able to stop it."

"Alright. So this stuff works in stages. First stage they'll get a little loopy and really horny. It's like there's a haze over their brains and all they can think about is sex, and to be completely honest, you sometimes can even get them out of bed. Next stage that haze kinda gets lifted, and they start acting a bit more normal, but they'll still be acting like they're part rabbit, and still be clinging to each other like mad. At this point I'd say you could get them about ten, maybe fifteen meters away from each other at most. That gap starts closing more and more as the stages go on, and they start getting weaker and weaker. By the third stage you can really start to notice the malnutrition, and you'll be down to about an arms length apart. Being apart seems to actually be painful at this stage, and in all honestly they start acting like a romantic old married couple. Still lots of sex, but also a hell of a lot of 'I love you' type stuff, and cute sentimental stuff. The fourth stage is the last one, and by now they'll probably hardly be able to stand. The thickness of a piece of fabric keeping them apart can be uncomfortable, but so long as they're in each others arms they're happy. That's pretty much all I know, but I'm not sure if it'll be any help,"

"Ya, I don't know either."

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, who'd the goblin set the king up with anyway?"

"It ...it was our friend ... Sarah."

Woh who woh, wait a minute, is this Sarah as in the girl who beat the labyrinth Sarah?" They all nodded to her "As in the MORTAL girl who beat the labyrinth?"

"Ya, what of it?"

"Buddy, if you guys are gonna find a cure, then God speed to ya."

~~o~~

"We must find a way to free the Lady before time runs out!"

"Ya,tell me something I don't know fox face." Hoggle grumbled as they walked from the now empty oubliette.

"Well our Lady had broken from magic before has she not? Dost thou not remember her legendary run of the labyrinth? The question now becomes, what allowed her to break the spell she faced last time?"

"The kid.." Hoggle mumbled.

"What?"

"Her kid brother, whatever his name was. Tibalt, Tony ...TOBY! That's it! And that's what got her through last time! She was so set on helping her brother that she didn't let herself get distracted! And you know what, that's what we're going to use to break the spell this time!"

"My goodness, that's brilliant! We can tell her that she must go home at once to be with her brother and she shall be freed!"

~~o~~

They made there way up to the tower where Jareth's room was, but when they got there all was uitpet in that wing of the castle.

"Damn, they ain't here!"

"Well how do you know?"

"Trust me Didymus, if they was here, we would know." Hoggle said, with their screams of extacy ringing in his ears once again. He had had many bad dreams where Jareth had made Sarah scream, but none of the compared to the nightmare that he had listened since the dinner. "Let's check the dinning room, and then maybe the throne room."

They found them in the latter of the two rooms, with significantly less goblins than usual. Jareth was sitting as he usually did, drapped provocatively over his throne, but now with Sarah sitting in his lap drapped over him. They actually seemed to have decided to get dressed, with the king in the pants and boots he had worn to breakfast and an actual shirt, and Sarah in a fancy wrap dress. Hoggle was glad to see her actually dressed, but couldn't get the thought out of his head that that particular dress was chosen for ease of access.

"Sarah?"

"Oh Hoggle! You've brought Didymus and Ludo! It's so nice to have everyone together like this." She said, slightly exaggerated.

"Sarah, we's got somethin' really important to tell's ya. You've been given a love potion! You's both been given a love potion! Thats whys you're actin' all ... weird"

"Love potion?" Sarah stared at him for a second, as if she was thinking it over , but then, much to Hoggle's dismay, both her and Jareth started laughing.

"Oh my goodness Hoggle, you come up with the most fantastic ideas! Ha! A love potion, Jareth, can you believe him!"

"Now Hobblet, as much as I know it must pain you to admit, there is no foul play in all this. Sarah and I have simply come to terms with how we feel. The best man one won, you might say."

 _Why the nerve on that smug little ..._ "Sarah! You don't really feel that way, do you?"

"I'm sorry Hoggle, but he's right. Ever since dinner I just feel so ... Right like this ... So at home." Then she leaded in for a kiss, and Hoggle turned away with a groan.

" Sir Hoggle, surely you must have some other plan. We cannot give up just yet." Didymus whispered

"I ... I don't know ..."

"Sarah ... Happy." Ludo mummbled as close to a whisper as he could.

"Oh shut it Ludo! She ain't happy, she's under a spell!" Suddenly a thought came to him, a memory from when Sarah first came to the Labyrinth. "I's got a plan!"

He ran over so that he was just a few feet feom the shameless public display of affection on the throne. "Sarah!"

She looked slightly dazed as she turned to him "hmmm, oh, yes Hoggle."

"Sarah, you know, you's been down here for a bit longer than you usually are. I bet ya there is people who are missin' ya, and I bet that one of them is Toby."

"T-Toby?"

"Well ya, he's probably worried, you know, not seen hia big sis in nearly two days now."

He couldn't quite place the look on her face, but it seemed to be part confused and part sad, and both those emotions were atarting to show in her voice. "Hoggle ,I ... I don't live at my old house anymore ... I live alone in my own apartment ... I hardly even see Toby anymore."

"But Sarah, what if he wants to see you again? What if Toby needs ya?"

"Pfff, he's doesn't need me anymore... Toby hasn't needed me in years"

"Well ... Well just because he hasn't needed ya, doesn't mean he won't."

"Hoggle would you just stop with this."

"But Sarah, he could need you right now, and you ain't there for him! What kinda sister does that make you?"

Seeing that her face was turning red and there where tear in her eyes, Hoggle knew that his plan had either worked peefectly, or it was about to blow up in his face.

"Hoggle, I told you already, Toby doesn't need me anymore! We barely even talk anymore!"

"But Sarah, look at what you did for him! How can you he don't need ya after you ..."

"Did something he doesn't even remember! I never told him about this place, he doesn't know anything about me saving him! He just doesn't want me around, so let it go!"

She was crying and he could hear her voice catch, but she was standing beside the thrown now. _It's workin'_

"He does want ya around! You just doesn't know it! Are you really just going to abandon him like this!"

His hope began to fade a little when he saw how hurt she looked by the last comment.

"H-how dare you!" She stammered for words for a while "I ... I ... I j-just ... I can't believe you! Leave me alone!"

"But Sarah, think about Toby!

" STOP IT, HOGGLE, JUST STOP IT!" Her scream echoed through the room as she feel to her knees sobbing.

"Sarah..." But before he could get anything else out, Jareth had him by the collarof his shirt, lifted almost to his eye level.

"Now listen here, Hoggit, you have been told to stop, and if you do not and you are not out of this room in the next fourty seconds, I will toss you into an oubliette full of starved, drunk goblins, and then toss whatever is left into the bog, do I make myself clear."

Hoggle had never seen Jareth so angry, and somehow he knew he wasn't kidding around with that threat. He simply nodded, and Jareth dropped him. In the blink of an eye, however, his whole presence had changed. When he was threatening Hoggle he had death in his eyes, but now he expressed the deepeat most comforting sympathies. He was now sitting beside the weeping Sarah, holding her gently to his chest and stroking her hair.

Looking at the two of them as he moved himself and the others toward the door, Hoggle tried and failed to think of a time where a plan of his had gone worse.

The throne room was now empty, with the goblins having all fled during the fight, and Sarah's crying was starting to settle down. All that could be heard was her occasional sobs, and Jareth whispering to her.

"Shhh, all will be well my precious, I'm here."

"Jareth."

"Yes."

"Thank you ... For stopping him that is" she said as she pressed a little closer to him "and for this."

"Sarah, I love you, I would do anything for you."

"I .. I love you too."

He pulled her in a little closer, and held her a little tighter. "Why don't wa head back up to the room, you could use some rest."

"Alright."

And with a kiss on her forehead and a puff of glitter, the throne room was empty.


	5. Brainstorms and Bad Ideas

**AN: So this chapter is more like the length of most the others. Could have probably made it longer, but I wanted to get it out, plus that means I know what I'm doing next chapter. Still trying to decide when to add that fluff chapter, and in this one I kinda hinted as there being at least 6 more. That's the plan, plus some others for not so plot related things, hoping it works out. Whatever, here's the story.**

* * *

As Sarah opened her eyes she could see that the sun was already up. Glancing over at the clock she could see that she had slept for over an hour longer than she normally did. An worry that she felt quickly went away when she felt a hand stocking her hair.

"And how are you this morning my love?"

"I'm fine, I guess." She sighed as she layed her head on his chest.

"Well you certainlydon't sound it, and you were quite upset last night. Are you sure there isn't anything you'd like to talk about?"

"I don't know, it's just, I did all that crazy stuff for Toby, and I tried to be a good sister and everything, but then one day he just starts acting like he's too cool for me or something. When I first moved out dad, Karen, and Toby would talk to me every week, and he always seemed really excited to talk to me. You know how the old cliché goes those, over time they called less, until we only really talked when we saw each other for holidays or something. What really started to get me is that when I talked to Toby he always made it seem like such a burden on him. I know he couldn't possibly remember what I did, but I though maybe he would end up having some kind of subconscious thing about it. I really don't know."

Jareth pulled her in a little closer and kept stroking her hair, but after a minute he gave a small chuckle.

"What?"

"Well, I was just thinking, perhaps another visit here would help to straighten him out."

Sarah began to laugh a little as well. "Oh, come on, be serious."

"Well I am! Think about it, I could lock him up in my castle or turn him into a goblin and you could pretend to run for him again. Show him what his life would have been like without you. Or better yet, we could have him actually run the labyrinth, show him just what you did for him. That would teach the little brat about respect and appreciation."

"I think I prefer your second plan." Sarah giggled "Anything to keep me from actually running that thing again."

"Oh Sarah, do you mean to say you didn't like my little game?"

"Well it did try to kill me on several occasions."

"Come now Sarah, do you really think I would hurt you?"

"I don't know" She gave him a suggestive little smile "you might."

"Well than, I can see that you're well rested."

"Oh defiantly."

~~o~~

It was now some time after noon and Hoggle had been at the castle for most of the day. This, much to his dismay, had meant that he had been forced to listen to countless cries of "Oh Jareth" and "Oh Sarah" and other words to that extent. On the other hand the castle gnome Donle and he had been tossing around ideas of how to break the spell since he got there.

"I really don't think you should give up on that first idea, I feel like it could work."

"Well it sures as hell didn't before."

"Well maybe don't focus on that kid, since that didn't work. It made her upset to think about him, and when you're upset, you want someone to confort you. So, she gets upset, Jareth comforts her, they end up spending half the day in bed. Maybe you should try to convince her to go back for something that makes her happy. Like maybe if she'd prefer to be with it rather than Jareth, she'll snap out of it."

"Hmm, you might be right, but I ain't sure. I've been thinking that we should try somethin' more simpler. Like maybe all's we gotta do is keep them away from each other long enough to break the spell."

"Maybe, but with any of this it's hard to tell if it'll work."

"Did's ya really finds nothin' on this stuff?"

"Nothing of any use to us no. I know that there are still some records that I need to look at, but they're damned near impossible to get hold of. They're scattered in the farthest cornors of the Underground."

"Well that don't matter right now, we've gots, um ..."

"Six different idea's at the moment. Are you sure we should just run into them headlong? Don't you think we should try to do a little more research first?"

Donle, you said it yourself, we've only got a few weeks to save Sarah.."

"And the king."

"Ya ya, and the king, whatever. Any way you look at it we've only got's a little while left. If we're to trust that dealer I'd say they're in stage two now, and it's just downhill from here's. We's got to at least try something."

"Hoggle, it has been, what, maybe five days since Sarah arrived here? We still have time to think things through. We don't want to rush into something and make their situation worse, like what happened with that first plan. Let's just try to be calm and rational about this. Perhaps the first thing you should worry about is gaining back the lady's trust, have her forgive you, you know. You did mess up pretty badly."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me, again. But you're right. I gots to apologize for hurtin' her like that."

"Well, it sounds like they're still going at it, so I'd say you have about an hour to collect your thoughts. Please try to get that apology, we really need her to like you for some of these plans to work."

"Ya I guess."

"Where were you thinking about starting with these anyways?"

"I was thinking about just tryin' the one where we gets them far enough away from each other first."

"Do you really think this one will work? I mean it's supposed to be painful for them to be apart, so don't you think, perhaps, this could worsen her opinion of you?"

"Well .. I guess ..." He stopped to think for a while, then turned back to Donle with his brilliant plan. "I've gots it! What if we takes her while she's alseep, and then she won't even know it's happening."

The gnome stood there silent for a minute before responding.

"So ... are you certain this is a good plan? That she will just stay asleep and all?"

"Sure it is! I'm gonna go tell the others!" Before Donle could get another word in, Hoggle had marched triumphantly out of the room, in search of Ludo and Didymus.

~~o~~

It was late into the night and Sarah was sleeping soundly. He dreams were filled with wonderful thoughts of her lover, and even when she while fast asleep she was happy to feel him so close. Then those good feeling seemed to drift away. It was almost as if she was being carried away from them.

~~o~~

"Oh for the love of god Ludo, would you be careful! You've nearly dropped her twice now!" Hoggle barked in a whispering tone.

"Ludo ... sorry ... Sarah ... Sarah is wiggly"

"My brother is right, Sir Hoggle, the good lady does appear to be a rather restless sleeper."

"It's just the potion, ignore it, we have to keep going. We need to try to get her back to the portal before either of them wake up."


End file.
